Church

I recently read an interview with Wm. Paul Young, the author of "The Shack" One of the things that Young said got me thinking. He said "institutional church doesn't work for those of us who are hurt and those of us who are damaged. If God is a loving God and there's grace in this world why doesn't it work for those of us who didn't get dealt a good hand in the deck, then why are we doing this?" That is a pretty powerful statement. I mean for many of us chruch doesn't seem to work because it doesn't give us the answers hat we desperately need at times. We don't always understand why things happen the way the do and when we try to get answers through the church, they just do not come. The church doesn't help those of us who are hurting and are damaged.

I know people who have walked away from the church because it just doesn't help them after they have been hurt so much. Sometimes the idea of church and a loving God just doesn't seem to fit into many of our lives. When you are hurting and damaged you don't want to deal with all the legalism and other things that are involved with certain churches. It's like the grace and love that churches talk about aren't enough when you are going through a lot of pain and heartache. Institutional churches sometimes just aren't enough; they just don't help.

I don't think churches give us the right image of God that those of us who are hurting and damaged need. They only give one aspect of God, the Biblical aspect. When I read "The Shack" I got a different insight to God and I highly suggest everyone read it. But I got a new insight to God and the things that happen around us. At one point in the story the main character helps the Holy Spirit in a garden, which he stated looked like a mess. While there are points in our lives that look like a mess, it looks beautiful to God because he sees the bigger picture that we don't. Institutional churches don't talk about that part of God. They always talk about a merciful God, instead of one that does let bad things happen for a reason.

I just think those of us who are hurting need something specific that most churches can't give and don't try to give. Making us feel like we have to struggle through our hardships on our own.